


Fine then, keep your Sea Crits

by Anonymous



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, M/M, Starscourge (Final Fantasy XV), Tentacles, Transformation, ardyn is trans, ardyn thinks it's gross but he's dtf, episode Prompto but Prompto isn't there so this is just happening instead, extremely mild implied hypno, oldstael but it doesn't matter bc he's a squid, verstael to mindflayer lmao
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-10
Updated: 2020-09-10
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:53:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26388970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Project Deathless is complete and Verstael only needs one last thing from Ardyn to make it all come together. The only experience he lacks from studying the starscourge is being infected himself, which brings some interesting changes.And then, y'know, they fool around.
Relationships: Verstael Besithia/Ardyn Izunia
Kudos: 9
Collections: Anonymous





	Fine then, keep your Sea Crits

**Author's Note:**

> I've given this several passes but this is as good as it gets. Thought maybe someone out there would appreciate, or at least be curious about it, so... I decided to post it even though I was originally going to keep it to myself.
> 
> The working title was Agony because writing this was excruciating, but I refuse to take it seriously so now it's a slightly more descriptive meme.

Verstael asked for very little, in his seventy-odd years in the living world.

Anything he wanted, he earned, even as a noble from a family with prestigious military lineage. He  _ earned _ his position, something of an oddity in his family that led to him seeking the life of a researcher instead of being content to climb the ranks on the back of his family name. It was not nepotism that led to him creating an army that could  _ replace _ all of that.

One thing, however, yet eluded him. 

In all his years, he had come no closer to understanding what made Ardyn Izunia's body so special. The scourge that resided within him should have killed him long ago, or changed him unrecognizably. When he had said as much years ago, the chancellor had only laughed. He assured him--while tousling his then much thicker hair--that the scourge was  _ not _ the source of his youth and longevity, despite it all. 

He told him, instead, in a low whisper that made Verstael's skin crawl even now, of the Lucians' crystal. The existence of said crystal wasn't a secret, at least not to Verstael. He had spent years studying the enemy, reading their myths and legends, knowing of the strange magic possessed by the king and his men. That was how he had been led to discover Ardyn in the first place.

But this crystal, Ardyn said, was also somehow responsible for how he achieved his immortality.

That was a terrifically tempting revelation, but back then Niflheim had been a long way off from even breaching the Lucian border. 

Even now that it was within his grasp, in the heart of Zegnautus Keep, Verstael was certain it was useless to him. 

Only after obtaining it did Ardyn admit that the crystal, which somehow was responsible for trapping his soul in the Beyond, would not work for him. Not only was he not of royal blood, or even Lucian, but it would not make the same mistake twice. 

He seemed to take some morbid pleasure in delivering the news, but it only managed to disappoint Verstael a little. 

After all, he had been working on his backup plan for quite some time now.

It had taken a long time, but Immortalis was complete. It was imperfect, but it would serve him well enough regardless.

All that was left was to prepare himself. And to make one final request of a very old friend.

Ardyn, the sick bastard, was all too happy to oblige him.

“Are you certain this is what you want?” he asked when he arrived, knowing the answer full well before it left his lips. “You can’t go back, if you wish to trade flesh and blood for steel. If you change your mind, I won’t be able to remove the scourge without killing you.”

He said all of this with a too fond look, as if coddling a creature he thought of as a pet. His hand cupped Verstael’s right cheek, a gesture he had long become accustomed to. He might have even expected it by now, but he didn’t say so, or lean into the touch, as he might have once. Instead he just stared up at Ardyn with venomous eyes, ignoring the way one of them twitched due to a small health scare in recent years.

“I’ve dedicated nearly half of my life to this moment,” he said. “I won’t throw it away now, even if you begged me.”

Ardyn tilted his head to the side in admittance, stroking Verstael’s cheek with his left thumb. 

“I will be able to perform the transference myself, once the process is complete,” he said, alluding to his power to share the memories of those he changed. If he didn’t have an idea of how to use the equipment already, he would soon learn. “I won’t hold you back from your endeavors, my dear old friend.”

And then, something purple flickered in the corner of his vision. He could feel it, alive and pulsing, making contact with his skin where Ardyn’s hand rested.

Verstael surprised himself when a gasp left his lips at the sensation. He had studied the scourge long enough to understand it, but to feel it himself, this parasite attaching itself to him, was another thing entirely. 

“I can do this more quickly, if you’d prefer,” Ardyn said calmly, seeming to read to far into his surprise. 

He nodded just a little, the vision in his right eye beginning to swim. “No, I want this experience. These may be my last moments in a mortal form, but I want to feel it for myself. No shortcuts.”

He swallowed with excitement. After years of study, this felt like the final piece. The last unknown factor. It was a little more overwhelming than he imagined it would be.

Firstly, he could feel Ardyn's presence. He could never prove or fully grasp the relationship between Ardyn and the human he forcibly turned. That he shared their memories, he had never been able to confirm. The only proof was Ardyn's word, until now. It felt as though the man were sifting through his memories, like turning the pages of a book while he searched for the information he needed. The amount of experience he had doing just that was apparent. Frightening, but exhilarating nonetheless.

"You're an interesting person," Ardyn mused as he worked. Verstael didn't care to decipher if that was a compliment or not. "An unusual idea about the way the world works, but I didn't need to corrupt you to find that out. You're too quick to speak your mind, even as a reclusive old shut-in."

He would ignore that too.

The vision in his eye wasn't returning in the capacity that Verstael expected. It was no longer blurry, but he could scarcely see anything - or Maybe he was seeing too much? He considered his right eye his "good" eye but now it couldn't focus on anything, it seemed to flit around wildly anytime he looked around. 

"Not very becoming," he heard Ardyn mutter. "It's a shame you can't see this for yourself, I know you would like to."

Admittedly, Verstael  _ didn't _ want to see. He had become adverse to his reflection a long time ago, since before his body had started to fail him. He was curious what Ardyn saw, but…

"What's happening?" asked Verstael. His voice rumbled from a little too deep within him, an only slightly dissonant sound. 

Ardyn ran his thumb across Verstael's cheek again. "I'm sure you can feel it eating at you without my aid. But your eye has gone all black and gold. Just the one, but the discoloration is spreading."

Yes, that much he could tell. Visibility was fading in his left eye as well. His skin crawled, feeling too tight as it began to spasm. It was a repulsive feeling.

"Hmm, perhaps you're better off not seeing," said Ardyn, looking him over again. "I want you to know that I don't choose the form taken by those I bestow my gift to. But, at the risk of stroking your ego, you're going to create something special."

Verstael's right arm started to seize, pushing and pulling as a spasm rendered it unusable, and alien to him. He could feel the tips of his fingers, but they were somehow loose, difficult to control with precision as he flexed them. 

Ardyn glanced down at the afflicted appendage. "Would you like to see?"

Verstael nodded just a little, pressing the side of his face into Ardyn's palm. He embraced whatever was happening, but at the risk of losing control. Cutting it this close was exciting, but he still wasn't prepared for the feeling of Ardyn grasping his trembling hand with the one that wasn't touching his face.

He cupped his hand gently, and Verstael gritted his teeth slightly at the sensation. His motions now restrained, he could feel how he involuntarily clutched and struggled at the confines of the hand grasping his.

Ardyn raised the appendage to Verstael's unfocused field of vision. A murky feeling was overwhelming his thoughts, keeping him calm, but as he looked he could see how it ravaged his body already. 

The fingers of his hand appeared elongated, too thin. It moved unlike a human shape, too soft, unafraid to move at unnatural angles that caused Verstael no discomfort, aside from the feeling of being further alienated from his own physical form. The fingers curled oddly, greying down to the tips that twisted unlike any human hand.

"Exciting stuff," hummed Ardyn, giving his hand a squeeze, before releasing it. There wasn't enough resistance to the touch, as if his bones had become flexible as rubber. His gloves had either fused to his skin or somehow melted away, the only texture and color remaining his own dark grey flesh.

"Yes, I've seen others of your kind," he continued, smiling. "You might have more fun guessing, than if I simply told you. Though I don't expect you'll keep the faculty of speech for much longer, if this keeps up. Sort of difficult to form words without a human tongue, I imagine."

The smile nauseated Verstael, but his passiveness was almost certainly Ardyn's doing. Somehow, he was keeping him relaxed, a magically induced feeling of serenity. If Ardyn was using his influence over the daemons he created to calm him, it was probably for the best.

Finally, his eyes were settling. He could focus them again, but they could swivel to increase his field of vision beyond what a normal human could see, somehow wider set than before. Not that Verstael was sure he could call himself human any longer, nor did he wish to.

He felt himself stretching somehow, or rather he saw it, sort of, in how the world around him seemed to shift. From his perspective, it almost seemed like Ardyn was shrinking, but as his body was pulled in all directions like some kind of putty, he knew that wasn't the case. 

"What a spindly thing you'll be," said Ardyn, trailing his hand on Verstael's increasingly less human form. "Stay down here with me, won't you?"

Verstael complied, unsure if it was his own will or not. He wanted to listen, more comfortable under Ardyn's grasp, but the way his body seemed to bend felt so strange. Had he moved, or been willed to move? 

All at once, something seemed to burst out of him rapidly, new shapes that Verstael could only sense but not make use of sprouting across his elongated form. They seemed to writhe with or without his command, a confusing mass of grey limbs stretching from his midsection to his legs, which were quickly losing feeling.

Verstael opened his mouth to speak, but found it difficult. It felt like it had been stuffed full of cotton, and didn't move the way he wanted.

"What did I tell you not a moment ago?" Ardyn said, feigning impatience. 

Some new appendage touched Ardyn's wrist, curling around him tightly. A tentacle, he realized, one of many. By now his lower half was a writhing mass of them itself, but this one came from the mutilated shape of his face. These were… more like feelers, he realized, angling his odd eyes to try and see.

Ardyn frowned just a little at the tentacle around his hand. "I do wish you wouldn't do that."

However, to his satisfaction, Ardyn didn't move him, or attempt to compel him to move on his own. 

He was gaining control over the tangle of limbs his body had become, placidity being replaced with something else. A new eagerness overcame him as he still stretched, nearly nothing left of his human form now. He hadn't felt this energized in a long time.

Could a daemon be a little vain? He wondered. This new shape was… ugly, admittedly, what he could see of it, but it became him. It was all he could do to hold onto himself, but he had calculated this. He uncoiled himself from Ardyn, testing this body tentatively.

"Don't get too attached," said Ardyn, rolling his eyes as he turned back to the equipment that would allow him to transfer Verstael's consciousness to the sleeping metal beast below the facility. "Unless you prefer to stay in a very mortal body of another kind, one with its own strengths and weaknesses, I don't recommend it. You  _ can  _ still hear me, can't you?"

Verstael didn't make any attempt to answer, instead extending one of his arms, which ended in another burst of tentacles, the other marginally more human. The unfamiliar sensation of grasping at everything was pleasing to his strange new senses. Both with his arm and the tentacles of his lower body that flowed around him like an intricate robe. 

He found he could glide in the air, rather than using his admittedly clumsy new lower half to crawl across the floor. Propelling himself through the air, he flitted over to where Ardyn stood, looming over him. He wrapped one, or two, or three, of the tentacles around Ardyn's middle, causing him to freeze for just a moment. A contented rumbling sounded from somewhere within him, though he wasn't sure of the source himself.

"Is this some kind of play to you?" he asked, lifting one hand to touch the squirming things around him. "You're enjoying my gift, then? That's good. It's been a long time since you've been so lively."

Ardyn didn’t seem particularly bothered by his presence, minding his own business while he fiddled with the machine. As far as he could tell, Verstael had already set everything up for him, but he was double checking. While not as invested in this as Verstael was, he could afford to act meticulously. Immortalis would be an exciting diversion, after all.

Verstael, however, was getting unusually handsy.

Tentacles curling around his chest toyed with the hem of his waistcoat, with the button of his trousers.

Raising his eyebrows, Ardyn looked over his shoulder up at him.

“Is this your way of thanking me?” he hummed, though he didn’t appear in the least offended. “Do you reckon you have enough time?”

Rather than answer, Verstael’s eager grasp became a little more fervent, met with a chuckle from Ardyn.

“It certainly has been a while. I expect it will be a little different this time though, won’t it?” he laughed quietly, running his hand over the tentacles to try and nudge them away. “I suppose I ought to give you a hand with the buttons, hm? I happen to like this shirt, so if you want it removed…” 

Verstael took the hint, slowly uncurling from him. He watched as Ardyn relaxed, slipping off his coat first, then unfastening the buttons of his waistcoat. The shirt was the last to go, but Ardyn wasn’t being particularly swift about it. Each button was undone slowly. One at a time, fingers feigning clumsiness for the sake of being annoying. It took ages, but he finally removed one arm from the shirt, then the other. He folded the shirt neatly and set it aside.

Ardyn had done it intentionally, knowing Verstael was impatient. A tentacle snaked around Ardyn’s leg, tugging. 

“Just a moment, please. Surely you can occupy yourself for another thirty seconds.”

He did find a way. The appendage around Ardyn’s leg moved, trailing instead to his chest. Verstael might have worried about the discomfort of tentacles against skin, but Ardyn was durable. If it truly bothered him, he wouldn’t go along. He leaned down to loop one arm around Ardyn’s chest. He explored with the odd, curling fingers. 

Ardyn shivered when the tip of one made contact with his nipples. He took this as a good sign, rumbling pleasantly in response. He swayed comfortably in the air, curling against him again when he leaned down to step out of his trousers, setting those aside at last.

Verstael seized this opportunity, latching onto Ardyn's upper body with his hands and hoisting him into the air. Ardyn's eyes went wide, but he had no time to respond properly before he found himself shoved back-first against the glass observation window. 

Oh, he was serious. Alright. Ardyn could make do with this.

“Has it really been that long?” asked Ardyn, snorting, though Verstael could feel him squirming under his grasp. "You'll have to guide me, I'm afraid. Thankfully, you haven't quite become acclimated to this body, but you'll know better than I what your needs are. I'm not ashamed to say that I've never done any such thing with a daemon before. Much less one so… dextrous." 

Verstael opened the umbrella of his lower half in silent demonstration at that, bringing his limbs to cling to Ardyn's leg.

"You never should have been trusted with those," he said, turning to face Verstael, who moved curiously, spreading his hands again to grasp the other with a single, short nod.

Ardyn would admit, he didn't find his face particularly handsome. A mindflayer was only ranked highly on his hastily created list of daemons he could see this happening with because, well… it was  _ vaguely _ human shaped. Until one looked closer. He might have preferred one of the varieties of arachnid, if he was being honest. At least they had human faces, as well as other desirable assets, but it was for Verstael that he made an exception. 

The new daemon was a very tactile learner in the first place, but with this body, everything must have felt different. Ardyn rolled his shoulders back as he allowed Verstael to explore. 

And explore he did. 

The tentacles wrapped around Ardyn's leg squeezed just a little, but the tips began to branch out. Curling around his waist, reaching the other leg. For a moment, Ardyn was forced to recognize that if Verstael really wanted, he could envelop most of his body in his tentacles. Whatever he decided to do once he had him would certainly not kill Ardyn, but he wasn't especially keen on letting it happen anyway. 

Thankfully, he seemed to only be anchoring himself to the other, gold eyes squinting at him for… approval? Ardyn wasn't sure he was reading him correctly. Verstael had never been shy, but he had never before had a body consisting mainly of tentacles either. 

Ardyn brought one hand to pat one of the tentacles around his thigh, giving an encouraging nod. "You have me pinned and vulnerable don't you? Touch me, if you wish, but don't let the moment slip away by gawking."

Verstael groaned quietly, but placed his strange, long hands on Ardyn's hips. The tentacles that split off of his arm wrapped around Ardyn's upper arms, holding those in place as well.

Verstael wasn't quite sure what he was doing, but the tentacles were sensitive, exploring everything with a delighted curiosity. He might have found this mundane, if not for how strange it felt just to touch. There was just  _ so much _ of him to grasp with now, and each limb was occupied somehow with Ardyn's body.

He leaned in closer, lifting the tentacles that framed his face to trace the shape of Ardyn's, tangling in the back of his hair. He let one slip around the crook of Ardyn's throat, only squeezing a little, making an odd sound that was almost like laughter when he felt the man's pulse quicken. 

Ardyn was almost disappointed. "Was this all you wanted?"

In response, Verstael shook his head just a little. Ardyn was right that his needs were different, but he was certainly feeling  _ something.  _

He unwound the longest of his tentacles from Ardyn's leg, stretching and moving it to wrap around his waist once fully. It came to a comfortable position, the tip curling at Ardyn's middle as if wearing him like a belt, but then it traveled lower. 

Ardyn tried to open his thighs a little wider, but Verstael had him in pretty much the perfect position already. His position against the thick glass wasn't as comfortable as he would have liked, but by now he was mostly being supported by the tentacles that held each of his limbs in place. With a soft breath, he flicked his eyes down, then back to Verstael's eyes, urging him on.

The tip of the tentacle moved with surprising delicacy. It slipped beneath the waistband of the shorts Ardyn wore, inserting itself in the space between his hips. 

A breathy laugh left Ardyn as Verstael went lower. He took this as encouragement, wrapping another tentacle around his throat in response with a long, pleased rumble. 

The flexible appendage toyed with him at first, spreading his lips while feeling around curiously. Oddly, the sensation was doing something for him as well. Ardyn wasn't very wet yet, but Verstael felt… something. A shudder went through his whole body, convulsing in a way that Ardyn clearly felt, from the small gasp he let out.

"Do it again," he said softly, with just a hint of need. 

Whatever he had done, Ardyn certainly liked it. He tried to recreate the pulse, pressing into him as he began to loosen up. He brushed against his clit, another thrill going through him when he was met with a soft moan. 

No doubt, Ardyn was playing it up to encourage him, but his hips moved slowly, pressing himself further upon the tentacle inside him. Whether or not he was acting, the rhythm of his hips grinding against tentacles was a good indication that he was enjoying himself. Pleasuring himself, where he could, but also greatly affecting Verstael as well.

Ardyn seemed to realize it first, and Verstael wondered if he had made a noise of pleasure, from the way the other smirked at him. "Is that what I think it is? You're a very lucky beast, if that really was a human pleasure response."

Verstael responded by pulling the tentacles around his neck tighter, eliciting an airy surprise from him and momentarily silencing his patronizing tongue.

"Blessed be the gods indeed," he whispered anyway, all but purring when the tentacles tightened around his throat again.

A new idea occurred to Verstael, and he withdrew the tentacle from the other's pants, to Ardyn's dismay. 

"Don't tell me you're finished already?" he said, scowling impatiently. Only half of it was an act, but Verstael was done listening. And far from finished.

Instead, he lowered one of the hands on Ardyn's hips, grasping at the shorts. Ardyn relaxed his head, getting back into position, but abruptly looked down when he heard the sound of tearing fabric. 

"What are you up to now?" he started to ask, but quickly found it difficult. 

Verstael had stuffed his mouth with the tentacle that had just been in his pants, making it nearly impossible for him to speak. Thankfully. The look of surprise on Ardyn's face was well worth it as he discarded the sleek black shorts on the floor, but it wasn't long before it relaxed into the lazy smile that Verstael had come to expect.

He used his long fingers to push at his entrance instead, far more familiar with the route even in this shape. Somehow, his hand still seemed to fit perfectly, exploring until he'd found the soft bud of Ardyn's clit once more.

Ardyn, determined to make a nuisance of himself, was providing him with another distraction. He had stopped talking, but the silky tongue that found its way around the slippery appendage was breaking his concentration. And thanks to Verstael's ministrations, he was moaning around it as well. 

The longest of his tentacles was by far the most sensitive, as Ardyn quickly picked up on. He was kind enough to keep his eyes on him as he suckled at the tentacle in his mouth. He nibbled just a little, teasing him until Verstael's body began to tremble again, forcing him to restrain him a little more tightly. His eyes squeezed shut, the eyelids sideways and a little too translucent, but Ardyn was fully satisfied with the response no matter how odd it was. Once again he rocked himself against Verstael's hand, still sucking. 

What use did a daemon even have for such an appendage? They didn't reproduce through normal means,  _ and yet--  _ Verstael groaned as he attempted to keep his rhythm while pleasuring Ardyn at the same time. The warmth of his innermost thighs was intoxicating, the growing wetness soaking his hand. Focusing on the two tasks at once was surprisingly difficult.

Ardyn, on the other hand, was handling himself fantastically. Certainly, he wasn't as busy as Verstael, but he was quite enjoying himself. The limbs around his throat were a pleasant surprise, and Verstael's tolerance for his nonsense was as low as ever, an exciting combination. 

He would have been content just to ride him, but was certainly not complaining about the situation he found himself in instead. He liked to think he was at least decent at giving head, and if the noises he received were any indication, this was sort of the same thing, so no complaints there.

The hand between his legs was familiar enough with his anatomy that the shape didn't matter. If anything, the unusual reach and texture were more exciting. He took advantage of the situation, grinding against his hand to increase much needed friction. A warmth was building within him, he couldn't help but voice his delight. He moaned softly around the tentacle in his mouth, further adding to Verstael's torment. 

Verstael really thought he might lose all sense if Ardyn continued. He was obviously drawing it out on purpose, sucking greedily on the writhing limb in his mouth in an agonizing rhythm. He had only intended to shut him up when he got a little too mouthy, but this was a vast improvement to the situation. Rather than silence him, he was on the receiving end instead, the muffled vibrations coursing through him rendering him unable to control the way the tentacle twisted and curled inside Ardyn’s mouth.

He was beginning to feel dizzy, but the climax couldn't come soon enough. He gave the closest approximation to a whimper he could make, further spreading his grip on Ardyn's limbs so that he was tangled with him as close as was physically possible without actually being inside his skin.

Verstael was reaching a breaking point. Ardyn couldn't have that before he managed to cum. With no comfortable way to communicate between them, he put a suggestion in Verstael's head, a gentle nudge, but did not force him to act on it. To his delight, as the mindflayer shuddered, the tentacles around his throat tightened just beyond what was comfortable, and he gasped softly as the one in his mouth surged deeper still. 

He laughed quietly, both at the situation and from pleasure as he continued to grind against his hand. He could feel how slick he was, how hard Verstael was fucking him versus how easy the motion was. Everything was wet, his upper thighs more than a little sticky, and not just where the tentacles had already been removed. 

All his senses were swimming, a pressure building in him as he was just on the very edge of reaching his climax. He gasped for air around the tentacle even as he continued slurping at it hungrily. His cries were being echoed by the strange, garbled moaning produced by the other. Strange, but that was all the encouragement he needed. He forced himself down on Verstael's hopelessly soaked fingers one more time.

They were indoors, with a blizzard raging beyond the facility walls, but Ardyn swore he had never seen more stars. He squirmed in Verstael's absurdly tight grip, crying out to the gods who had allowed this to come to pass. If he could grasp at Verstael at all in his position, he was sure he would have been clinging to him as well, a confusing mass of limbs human and other as wave after wave of his climax hit. 

Ardyn's chest heaved, satisfied, and Verstael was weak, writhing against him from the intense pleasure he felt this body was unprepared for. He withdrew his hand, grasping Ardyn's middle again with both arms and engulfing him as his body trembled. He couldn't support them anymore, letting them slowly drift back to the floor as he held Ardyn in a death grip. He was losing control of the functions he had only just gained, could feel himself releasing Ardyn's form once they were back on the floor. All he could do was clench and unclench his hands, a mess of wet and wriggling tentacles against him on the floor. If he had ever felt this intense before, it had been a very long time indeed. 

Finally, he could feel himself calming down. The sound of limbs slapping uselessly against the floor had died away, and beside him Ardyn's breathing was heavy, but contented. 

He desperately wished there was time for a second round, but the less time spent in this form, the better. 

Staring at the industrial metal dome of the ceiling, he reached out with a tentacle to find Ardyn. It coiled around the man's ankle, a gentle touch this time, just to feel him.

He heard Ardyn laugh, a heartier sound than before, but oddly still muffled. He turned himself so he could look at him, pulling himself into a slightly more upright position.

Just what was so funny? 

Ardyn was spitting, pulling something out of his mouth. 

Verstael's body tensed when he realized what it was. He brought the longest of his tentacles into view for a closet look. Indeed, the tip ended abruptly, without injury, as if it had simply popped off on its own. It was missing about a foot of length… Though it wasn't really missing. There it was, squirming in Ardyn's hand. 

Perhaps it was his reaction that prompted it, but Ardyn laughed again, this time deeper, with nothing obstructing him from doing so. 

"Am I meant to be flattered?" he asked, showing the detached appendage to Verstael, who was clearly trying not to look at it. "Some kind of mating ritual, is it? I'm afraid I can't reciprocate. Should I give it back?" 

Verstael voiced his displeasure in a soft hiss, only making Ardyn chuckle again before collecting himself and chucking the discarded tentacle aside. 

"Well, it's a good thing there's no one left out here, I would have hated to have company arrive during that," he hummed pleasantly, getting to his feet. "You really didn't have to destroy my underclothes though, I hope you realize."

Verstael finally moved again, a little weak, but able to support himself upright on the ground. He moved closer to Ardyn, hovering over his shoulder at the console. 

Ardyn didn't appear surprised when two tentacles wound around his waist again. 

"Haven't you left enough of your marks all over my body already?" he hummed, though he wasn't serious. 

Verstael looked down, seeing that his body, namely his legs, upper body, and neck, were covered in distinctive red marks in a clear pattern. Anyone who happened to see him in this state of undress had bigger things to worry about, but they would be able to guess what kind of creature had made those marks. If they believed their eyes at all. 

Out of spite, Verstael threw another around him, squeezing enough to make Ardyn suck in a little more air. 

Ardyn smiled, then looked back at him. "I think everything is in order for the transfer."

Then, he patted the tentacles carefully, indicating that he should move them. "You'll have to release me for this part, I'm afraid."

Slowly, Verstael did, and he moved to the side of the machine that would absorb what was left of him when he was no more. As delightful as this body was, as incredible was the event that just occurred, there was something greater waiting for him. 

He could easily give up such comforts as sins of the flesh for that. 

Ardyn raised his arm, summoning one of his vast collection of weapons to his side. There was one he had come to favor, a crimson colored scythe that had no doubt mutated from something else originally, but Verstael had never asked. Had never cared to know how it came into his possession. 

As Ardyn selected it, Verstael waited. If he still could, he would have been smiling. He courted death and immortality at once, embracing the transience of this form and the previous one fully. 

His new host would far surpass either of them. 

As Immortalis, he would be reborn.


End file.
